Vehicle access seating

ABSTRACT

Vehicle access seating supports a user seat unit using a mounting assembly, a fore-aft slide assembly, a swivel assembly and an extension/retraction assembly. The seat unit moves from a secured drive position on either side of the motor vehicle to an access position wherein at least part of the seat is outside the vehicle, facilitating user vehicle access. Moving from the drive position to the access position, the seat moves linearly along two axes—one (static) defined by the mounting assembly, and a second axis (pivotable) defined by the seat itself—increasing the seat occupant&#39;s legroom by reducing the clearances between the seat and the vehicle B-pillar and between the seat and the vehicle transmission tunnel. A vertical mounting recline angle improves the occupant headroom inside the vehicle. Moving between the drive and access positions, the seat can move through a narrow transition corridor in the motor vehicle.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a United States national stage application under 35U.S.C. § 371 and claims the benefit of International Application No.PCT/US2015/0033196, filed May 29, 2015, which claims the benefit of andpriority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/005,566, filed May 30,2014, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentireties, including all addenda thereto, for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to apparatus, systems,methods, techniques, etc. for implementing seating systems that permitmovement of a motor vehicle passenger or driver from an interior seatposition (e.g., a driving position behind the motor vehicle steeringwheel, or a passenger seat position) to an access position that is atleast partially outside the motor vehicle and that permits mounting anddismounting of the seat, especially for someone of limited physicalability.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

Motor vehicles can have seats, seating assemblies, seating structures,etc. (referred to collectively at times herein as “seating systems”)either originally installed or retrofitted to address mobility and otherissues for drivers and passengers. Some of these seating systems aremanual (i.e., operated by the seat occupant or another person withoutpowered assistance) and some are powered in the sense that one or moreelectric motors, actuators and/or the like are used to move one or morecomponents of a given seating system. Previous seating systems have beenlimited in several ways. A common and simple solution in these earliersystems is based on two sub-systems or members including a lower baseattached in a fixed position to the motor vehicle floor pan and a topbase (with an attached user seat) attached to the lower base via aswivel, allowing the top base to rotate outward or inward relative tothe motor vehicle to facilitate ingress and egress. Such a solution canbe manually operated (e.g. with a lever or the like), but also can bepowered and operated by a switch, a pendant or the like.

Another solution is based on integrated movement of three sub-systems ormembers, including a lower base fixed to the motor vehicle floor pan. Amiddle base is attached to the lower base via rails, and allows forwardlinear movement parallel to a motor vehicle longitudinal axis duringoutward rotation of the user seat and rearward linear movement parallelto the motor vehicle longitudinal axis during inward rotation of theuser seat to improve the occupant's rotation position relative to theB-pillar of the motor vehicle. A top base (with an attached user seat)is attached to the middle base via a swivel, allowing the top base torotate outward or inward relative to the motor vehicle for ingress andegress. This 3-member solution can be manually operated (e.g., with alever or the like), or can be powered. Apparatus, systems, methods,techniques, etc. that provide improved seating systems, especially withregard to a motor vehicle occupant's head room, knee room and comfort,would represent a significant advancement in the art.

OVERVIEW

Systems, methods and apparatus for vehicle access seating includeassemblies supporting a user seat—e.g., some implementations include amounting assembly, a fore-aft slide assembly, a swivel assembly and anextension/retraction assembly, which are driven and/or powered by adrive package that can include one or more motors, engines, actuators orthe like for causing components, assemblies, etc. to move relative toone another. The mounting assembly can be attached in a fixed positionto an interface layer secured to motor vehicle and has linear side edgeguides. A mounting assembly adapter plate having a static axis A can bemounted parallel to or at a horizontal angular offset to a motor vehicletransmission tunnel (i.e., the longitudinal axis of the motor vehicle).A fore-aft slide assembly is mounted to the mounting assembly to allowlinear movement parallel to the axis A using side edges and side edgeguides to position the user seat's prior to starting rotation of theseat about the motor vehicle B-pillar. An extension/retraction slideassembly is mounted to the fore-aft slide assembly via a swivel assemblythat allows controlled rotation of the user seat unit. Theextension/retraction slide assembly engages the swivel assembly using amechanism employing side edges and side edge guides to permit linearmovement of the seat unit parallel to a seat pan axis S that pivots asthe swivel assembly rotates the user seat unit. Using the linearmovement along the axes A and S, combined with rotation, an occupant'sposition relative to a motor vehicle interior (e.g., the dashboard andA-pillar of the motor vehicle) can be optimized for comfort and legroom.

Embodiments of this vehicle access seating system allow for allfunctions to be electrically powered and further allow the best of pathof travel to either be programmed or to be determined based on sensordata during operation. The reclined installation plane utilized in someimplementations allows for more occupant headroom while using the OEMseating location. Twisting (horizontal angular offset) of the interfacelayer also permits the user seat to move closer to the doorway while theseat powers forward, making rotation more efficient and making it easierfor the occupant's head to clear the motor vehicle roofline. Finally,the linear motion that moves the seat pan along the seat axis S likewisehelps with optimizing seat transitioning between the drive and accesspositions, the combination of two types of linear motion coupled withrotation on an off-center rotation axis allowing for a multiple-axismovement.

The user seat is moved from a secured “drive position” or other standardinterior motor vehicle seat position to an “access position” outside themotor vehicle, facilitating access for a user having limited mobility,strength, etc. Moreover, some embodiments of the vehicle access seatingsystem include the use of motors to drive and control one or more of theabove-referenced assemblies, wherein the motor(s) can be operatedmanually in situations where there is a power failure and/or otherfailure that prevents powered operation of the articulated seatingsystem, thus allowing securing of the user seat in a position thatpermits continued use of the motor vehicle despite the seating systempower and/or other failure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with referenceto the following drawings. The components in the drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the views. While multiple implementations are described inconnection with these drawings, the disclosure is not limited to theimplementations disclosed herein. On the contrary, the intent is tocover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents.

FIGS. 1A-1F are plan views of one or more implementations of a vehicleaccess seating system.

FIGS. 2A-2D are various views of one or more implementations of avehicle access seating system in different positions during extensionand retraction of the user seat to permit occupant egress and ingress ina motor vehicle.

FIGS. 3A-3D are cross-sectional views of one or more implementations ofa vehicle access seating system. FIG. 3E is an exploded perspective viewof one or more implementations of a vehicle access seating system.

FIGS. 4A-4B are various views of a tilt mounting of a mounting assemblyfor a vehicle access seating system.

FIGS. 5A-5B are various views of all or part of a mounting assembly forone or more implementations of a vehicle access seating system.

FIGS. 6, 12 and 15 are a detailed exploded view of one or moreimplementations of a vehicle access seating system.

FIGS. 7-8 are various views of a roller bearing guide usable with avehicle access seating system.

FIGS. 9-10 are various exploded views of one or more implementations ofa vehicle access seating system.

FIGS. 11A-11B are various views of all or part of a swivel assembly forone or more implementations of a vehicle access seating system.

FIG. 13 illustrates various views of a runner or guide that can be usedwith a vehicle access seating system.

FIGS. 14A-14B are various views of all or part of anextension/retraction assembly for one or more implementations of avehicle access seating system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description, including the Figures, will refer toone or more invention implementations, but is not limited to suchimplementations. Rather, the detailed description is intended only to beillustrative. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that thedetailed description given with respect to the Figures is provided forexplanatory purposes as the invention extends beyond such specificimplementations. Implementations of the invention provide apparatus,systems, methods, techniques, etc. including and pertaining to (but notlimited to) articulated seating systems including vehicle access seatingsystems for and/or in motor vehicles and the like. Other structures anduses will be apparent to those skilled in the art after considering thefollowing disclosure and the Figures provided herewith. Someimplementations may be used in connection with a driver's side seatingsystem secured to the interior of a motor vehicle and someimplementations may be used in connection with other seating positions(e.g., passenger seating positions) in a motor vehicle or the like.

Earlier configurations of such seats have imposed certain limitations ontheir installation and use. For example, when a seat swivel base isinstalled using a modified OEM seat, that installation typicallyincreases the height of the vehicle seat when it is in its “driveposition” (i.e., when it is in its interior locked position that permitsnormal operation of the motor vehicle, whether on the driver's side oron the passenger side of the vehicle, in which the user seat is in agenerally forward-facing orientation in the motor vehicle seatlocation), thus limiting the clearance space between an occupant's headand the vehicle's interior roofline (i.e., “headroom”). In someinstances this repositioning of the seat height creates a configurationoutside a motor vehicle manufacturer's threshold(s) for crashworthiness.When this occurs, it is not uncommon to replace the OEM seat with alow-profile (e.g., aftermarket) seat to reduce the seat height.

Another issue arises in earlier seat configurations with respect to theoccupant's knee room and legroom more generally. When the vehicle seatis rotated outward or inward, it is important to get as much occupantknee room as possible, especially for physically challenged individualssuch as those with limited mobility (e.g., older individuals, physicallychallenged individuals). This limits how far forward (terms such as“forward” and “rearward” are relative to the motor vehicle's front andrear) the swivel installation should be situated. Likewise, the seatcannot be placed too far rearward because, for example with respect to afront driver or passenger seat configuration, the seat and its occupantalso need to be able to clear the motor vehicle B-pillar as the seatmoves into and out of the motor vehicle. The “least rearward” positionpossible or available in connection with earlier access seatconfigurations has been slightly forward of a normal OEM seat.

One solution to these limitations is an articulated seating system thatis the subject of U.S. Publication No. 2013/0113258 A1, published May 9,2013, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for allpurposes. In implementations of that invention, the swivel base movesforward while rotating, thus permitting movement that is close to theB-pillar.

As noted in this disclosure, when installed in a motor vehicle 70,vehicle access seating implementations can be viewed as a “stack” ofassemblies that can include, from lowermost to uppermost—a mountingassembly, a fore-aft slide assembly, a swivel assembly and anextension/retraction assembly (which includes the user seatunit)—illustrative examples are shown respectively as assemblies 120,140, 160 and 180 in FIGS. 1A-1F. These assemblies can be operated by oneor more motors or the like, and such motors coordinate movement of theuser seat unit to increase legroom for a seat occupant by reducing orminimizing the clearance between the user seat and a motor vehicleB-pillar and by reducing or minimizing the clearance between the userseat and a motor vehicle transmission tunnel.

More particularly, vehicle access seating implementations providingimproved occupant knee room (or legroom generally) that are showngenerally in FIGS. 1A through 1F include a mounting assembly 120 (alsoreferred to as an “adapter plate assembly”) configured to be secured tothe interior of a motor vehicle 70 in approximately the same locationand position as an OEM motor vehicle seat mounting (i.e., a motorvehicle internal seat position adjacent to a motor vehicle door).

In FIGS. 1A to 1C, the mounting assembly 120 is mounted generallyparallel to the motor vehicle transmission tunnel 79 and motor vehiclelongitudinal axis L. Alternatively, in FIGS. 1D to 1F, the mountingassembly 120 is mounted at a horizontal offset (or “twist”) angle Ψ of˜1° (±1°)to the motor vehicle transmission tunnel 79 and vehicle axis L.In some situations, this horizontal angular offset Ψ of one or more ofthe lower assemblies of the seating system 100 allows the footprint ofsystem 100 to better match the floor space in motor vehicle 70. In someimplementations the seating system 100 can be ˜900 mm long, meaning thata 1° turn of the system's base creates 16 mm of additional space on thesides. Moreover, the 1° offset can be nominal and long mounting holes insome brackets of the seating system 100 implementations may allow for anadditional 1° of twist (i.e., 2° total), meaning that installation ofthe system 100 can actually provide closer to 32 mm or approximately1.25 inches of extra space, thus allowing for installation in a widervariety of motor vehicles.

A first slide assembly 140 (also referred to as a “fore-aft slideassembly”) is configured to move linearly relative to the adapter platein parallel with the adapter plate longitudinal axis A and relative tothe mounting assembly 120 (per arrow 62 in FIGS. 1A-1F). This firstlinear motion slides the seat's pivot mechanism into position to beginseat rotation away from the vehicle's central transmission tunnel 79 andtoward the vehicle door 75 (between the A-pillar 73 and the B-pillar74). A swivel assembly 160 has a swivel post that engages the fore-aftslide assembly 140 and controls rotation of the user seat relative toadapter plate axis A to pivot the seat around the B-pillar 74 (per arrow64 in FIGS. 1A-1F). While the seat rotates, a second slide assembly 180(also referred to as an “extension/retraction slide assembly”) slidesthe seat linearly (per arrows 66 and 68 in FIGS. 1B and 1E) parallel tothe user seat's axis S (referred to herein as the “seat axis S”), whichmay have pivoted so that it is not parallel to adapter plate axis A. Asseen in FIGS. 1B and 1E, as the extension/retraction slide assembly 180retracts the seat 102 (i.e., away from dashboard 77 and A-pillar 73)during rotation (and possibly during fore-aft movement along axis A aswell), the legroom or knee room for a seat occupant increasessubstantially.

In FIGS. 1A-1F, the fore-aft slide assembly 140, swivel assembly 160 andextension/retraction slide assembly 180 coordinate the user seatmovement in some implementations to increase or maximize an occupant'sknee room (i.e., the spacing between an occupant's legs and the motorvehicle dashboard 77 and A-pillar 73) by reducing the user seatclearance T (i.e., the clearance between the user seat unit and thetransmission tunnel 79) and the user seat clearance B (i.e., theclearance between the user seat unit and the B-pillar 74). This secondlinear movement can, in some implementations, include retracting theseat “back” from its original position (i.e., away from the dashboard77, A-pillar 73, and/or B-pillar 74) by a distance R, as seen in FIGS.1B and 1E.

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate a seating system 100 in various positions duringits sequential operation including linear fore-aft movement parallel tostatic axis A as illustrated by arrow 129 and linearextension/retraction movement parallel to pivotable axis S asillustrated by arrow 189 in FIGS. 2B and 2C. Other components andmovements (including rotation of the user seat unit 110) are discussedin more detail below. FIG. 2D shows the seating system 100 from severalangles. The combination of multiple-axis linear movements and rotationalmovement permits multiple axis movement of the user seat. In eachimplementation of the seating system 100, the user seat moves through atransition corridor defined in the motor vehicle interior.

Stated another way, according to one or more implementations the userseat is moved from the drive position to the access position bycoordinating the following movements of the seat: (1) linear movementalong a first axis that is static relative to an adapter plate mountedwithin the motor vehicle (e.g., adapter plate axis A, as discussed inmore detail herein); (2) rotating the seat relative to the static(first) axis; and (3) linear movement along a second axis that ispivotable, the second axis's orientation depending upon the amount ofseat rotation (e.g., seat axis S, as discussed in more detail herein).During movement of the seat from between the drive position and theaccess position, occupant legroom can be increased by reducing orminimizing the clearance between the user seat and a motor vehicleB-pillar and by reducing or minimizing the clearance between the userseat and a motor vehicle transmission tunnel.

The Figures illustrate one or more implementations of an articulatedseating system 100. Some such implementations can be viewed as a numberof assemblies supporting a user seat unit 110 that can include a chairplate, seat pan and/or seat bracket 104 and associated mounted user seatcushion 102 (to which a backrest 103 and optional headrest may bemounted, if desired). The multiple assemblies can include a mountingassembly 120, a fore-aft slide assembly 140, a swivel assembly 160, andan extension/retraction slide assembly 180, where the assemblies workcooperatively to provide multiple-axis rotation and movement of the userseat unit 110. These various assemblies are driven and/or powered insome implementations by a drive packet that includes one or more motors,engines, actuators or the like for causing components, assemblies, etc.to move relative to one another. In some implementations, the swivelassembly 160 and extension/retraction assembly 180 operate inconjunction with the fore-aft slide assembly 140, combining two linearmotions with rotation to maintain the user seat within predeterminedthresholds with respect to (1) clearance T, the distance between theseat unit 110 and the motor vehicle transmission tunnel 79, and (2)clearance B, the distance between the seat unit 110 and the motorvehicle's B-pillar, both shown in FIGS. 1B and 1E, and thus providingsubstantial relative knee room for an occupant of the user seat duringboth egress from and ingress into the motor vehicle 70. One component ofthe occupant knee room is clearance K, seen in FIGS. 1B and 1E, which isthe distance between the front edge of the swivel assembly 160 and aforward internal motor vehicle structure (e.g., either dashboard 77 orA-pillar 73 in FIGS. 1B and 1E). Because the extension/retractionassembly 180 allows seat 102 to retract away from the dashboard 77 andA-pillar 73 (retraction distance R in FIG. 1B), the total knee room foran occupant of seat 102 is the clearance K+R.

As noted, two types of linear motion are used in various vehicle accessseat implementations. The first type of linear motion is linear motionof the first slide assembly parallel to static axis A and relative tothe mounting assembly 120. The second type of linear motion is linearmotion of the second slide assembly relative to the swivel assembly 160and parallel to pivotable axis S (i.e., if the user seat 102 has rotated90° from the adapter plate axis A, then the second type of linear motionwill be on a line parallel to axis S, 90° off of axis A). Using acombination of these linear motions with rotation of the user seat unit110 (such combinations can utilize sequential incremental movementsand/or simultaneous movements of two or more of these), the user seattransmission tunnel clearance T and the user seat B-pillar clearance Bcan be minimized and/or maintained within specified thresholds untiluser seat 102 can be extended past the B-pillar to an access position inwhich seat 102 extends at least partially outside the door 75 of themotor vehicle 70. When this combination of motions is used, the userseat total clearance K+R is increased and, in some implementations,maximized. In addition to providing better comfort and use for anoccupant of the seat 102, this also provides an improved clearance ofthe door 75 situated between the motor vehicle A-pillar and theB-pillar.

Adapter plate assembly 120 (also referred to as the “mounting assembly”)is configured to be secured to a motor vehicle interior in approximatelythe same location as an OEM motor vehicle seat. As shown in FIGS. 5A and5B, adapter plate assembly 120 has an adapter plate 122 configured to beaffixed to a motor vehicle internal seat position adjacent to a motorvehicle door (e.g., being bolted to the motor vehicle chassis or securedin some other appropriate fashion and/or at other appropriate attachmentpoints or structures) and has generally parallel fore-aft slide assemblysidewall roller bearing guides 144 (as seen in FIG. 3E) mounted withinsidewall channels 124 to the lateral sides of adapter plate 122. Theselateral sidewall channels 124 (which in some implementations are edgesof adapter plate 122 that are bent or formed to create channels,reinforced if appropriate) in which roller bearing guides 144 areaffixed that allow and guide the fore-aft slide assembly 140 to movelinearly parallel to adapter plate axis A, as indicated by arrow 129 inFIG. 3E. Adapter plate assembly 120 serves as the base from which theother assemblies operate—the relative positioning and components of theassemblies can be seen in the cross-sectional views of FIGS. 3A-3D.

In some implementations, adapter plate 122 includes a crush zone 125that is configured to absorb kinetic energy (and/or other forces)applied when a motor vehicle in which seating system 100 is mountedstops suddenly or otherwise generates forces that affect the mounting ofadapter plate 122 to the motor vehicle. The crush zone 125 can becreated using laser cutting of the plate 122, and/or in other ways knownto those skilled in the art.

As seen in FIG. 4A, adapter plate 122 is mounted in some implementationsas an inclined plane at an incline angle Θ (e.g., ˜4°) relative tohorizontal. In some implementations the adapter plate 122 is securedusing vehicle adaptation brackets as an interface layer with the motorvehicle floor pan 72 designed with an “incline plane” of approximately4° and an option to twist this layer sideways by a horizontal offsetangle Ψ (as noted above).

The inclined mounting provides improved occupant headroom in the motorvehicle (e.g., 2-3 inches in cases where Θ=4°), which not only providesadditional headroom in motor vehicles where such vehicle access seatingsystems can be installed now, but also means that other motor vehicleshaving lower ceilings can be retrofitted with such incline-mountedimplementations, thus accommodating a wider variety of motor vehicles inwhich implementations disclosed herein can be employed. Also, occupantcomfort is improved due to better leg relief and the ability of anoccupant to recline further without slipping forward on the seat 102. Inaddition, when the seat unit 110 is rotated substantially (e.g., 90°),as seen in FIG. 4B, an occupant will have better doorway clearancebecause the occupant's head will be closer to the B-pillar as a resultof the seat tilt (a motor vehicle's B-pillar typically provides the bestheadroom for individuals entering and exiting the motor vehicle). Forseats installed in the driver's position in a motor vehicle, this tiltalso improves the seat occupant's clearance of the steering wheel, whichhas been a limitation in some earlier seating systems. Inimplementations in which the seat is extended fully outside the motorvehicle, activation of the swivel assembly can provide a slight lift forthe extended seat as well.

Fore-aft slide assembly 140 is configured to move the user seat linearlyparallel to a static axis (e.g., adapter plate axis A) and relative tothe fixed mounting assembly 120 to establish (and, in someimplementations, optimize) the initial rotation position relative to theB-pillar 74. As illustrated in FIG. 6, this first slide assembly 140uses an under-plate 142 having side edges 143, each of which engages oneof the roller bearing side edge guides 144, thus allowing theunder-plate 142 to slide linearly within the roller bearing side edgeguides 144. As seen in more detail in FIGS. 7 and 8, each guide 144 canhouse roller bearings 145 on 3 orthogonal contact planes (top, outside,bottom) of each side edge guide 144. Each side edge 143 of under-plate142 can thus engage each guide's top, bottom and outer edge rollerbearings to provide both support and low-friction linear slidingtranslation of the under-plate 142 as it moves fore and aft relative tothe adapter plate 122 during operation. Each side edge guide 144 can beformed of 2 halves that permit easy assembly and replacement of bearings145 and the guides 144 themselves.

Under-plate 142 can be unitary or can be composed of multiple platessandwiched together to provide needed structure and/or support forsystem 100 and fore-aft slide assembly 140. Other equivalent sliding orlinear motion structures may be known to those skilled in the art.Fore-aft linear motion is controlled by a drive motor 146 that engagesadapter plate 122 and is mounted to under-plate 142, as shown in FIGS. 6and 9.

An arcuate rack and pinion and swivel post configuration or otherappropriate swivel mechanism can be used to control rotation of swivelassembly 160 relative to fore-aft slide assembly 140 in someimplementations. To accomplish this, an arcuate rack 148 is mounted tothe upper surface of under-plate 142, and a swivel or pivot hole 150 isgenerally concentric to rack 148. Hole 150 holds and/or supports aswivel post or similar structure of swivel assembly 160 duringrotational movement, as explained in more detail herein.

Swivel assembly 160 is mounted atop fore-aft slide assembly 140 andconfigured to rotate relative to the fore-aft slide assembly 140 usingan off-center swivel assembly in some implementations. Swivel assembly160 has an over-plate 162 affixed to a weldment or the like, dependingupon the configuration used for a given seating system. As seen in FIGS.10 and 11, over-plate 162 has a swivel post or other similar structure164 mounted to the underside of over-plate 162. Structure 164 engageshole 150 of under-plate 142 to permit controlled rotation of the swivelassembly 160 relative to the fore-aft slide assembly 140. Pivoting ofthe swivel assembly 160 can be facilitated using one or more rollers 147that are rotatably mounted to the under-plate 142 and/or the over-plate162.

A swivel motor 168 (also referred to as a rotation motor) having apinion 169 coupled thereto is mounted to over-plate 162 so that pinion169 engages arcuate rack 148 on under-plate 142 to permit motor 168 tocontrollably rotate swivel assembly 160. This swivel motor 168 can bemounted to over-plate 162 using a back weldment 186 or other appropriatestructure. Back weldment 186 also can be used to mount another drivemotor 188 (also referred to as an “extension/retraction motor”).

One or more implementations of back weldment 186 and motors 168, 188 areshown in FIGS. 3A-3D, 10 and 12. As will be appreciated by those skilledin the art, other equivalent drive packets using more or fewer motors,other components, etc. can be used.

Swivel assembly 160 also includes sidewall channels 165 (which, likechannels 124 of adapter plate 122, in some implementations are edges ofthe over-plate 162 that are bent or formed to create channels), as seenin FIGS. 10, 11A and 11B. Each channel 165 holds a runner or side edgeguide 184, which can be a plastic rail made of self lubricated POM(polyoximetylen modified with Teflon additives).

A seat pan movable as part of a second slide assembly 180 (also referredto as an “extension/retraction assembly) is mounted to the swivelassembly 160. As seen in FIGS. 12-15, extension/retraction slideassembly 180 includes a drive motor 188 mounted to the weldment 186,which drives a rod 190 that can utilize spacer apparatus 191 mounted attwo locations on rod 190—as seen in FIGS. 12 and 15. This drive motor188 thus engages the seat pan 104 to selectively move the second slideassembly 180 in a linear motion parallel to the axis S. Side edges 107of seat pan 104 slidably engage side edge guides 184 held in thechannels 165 of over-plate 162 to permit seat pan 104 to move linearlyparallel to the seat axis S in both directions from the drive positionof seat pan 104. User seat unit 110 includes seat cushion 102 mounted toseat pan 104 at seat mounting brackets 105.

In some implementations of the seating system 100, the fore-aft slidedrive motor 146, swivel motor 168 and extension/retraction drive motor188 can be selectively disengaged to permit manual operation of one ormore aspects of system 100. Manual operation is selected by “unlocking”or “releasing” the motor from its powered connections to permit manualoperation. This is particularly helpful when a seating system losespower and/or fails in some way, or when an individual motor isinoperable. For a motor vehicle in which the articulated seating system100 is installed in the driver's location, failure of earlier seatingsystems other than in a drive position has previously meant that themotor vehicle was unusable. As is known in the art, a given motor can beoperated using a hand crank or lever to move components as desired,including configuring system 100 to permit operation of a motor vehiclein which system 100 is installed. Geared connections and othermechanisms can be utilized to ensure proper synchronization and movementof components.

Using one or more implementations discussed herein and/or shown in theFigures, the vehicle access seating system 100 can be operated in one ofa variety of methods of operations, including as follows. This exampleis based on but not limited to a passenger side front row installation(front right). Initially, the user seat unit 110 is in a “driveposition” (see FIG. 1D and/or FIG. 2A) in which the seat axis S isgenerally parallel to adapter plate axis A, and where there is a smallhorizontal offset angle Ψ of ˜1° between vehicle axis L and adapterplate axis A. Chair plate 104 is in a “neutral position” relative to theover-plate 162 (that is, the location of seat pan 104 relative to theswivel assembly 160 when the seating system 100 is in its “driveposition”—meaning that the seat is in position to permit operation ofthe motor vehicle).

From this drive position the fore-aft assembly 140 slides user seat unit110 (and swivel assembly 160 and extension/retraction assembly 180 whichare mounted atop fore-aft assembly 140) parallel to static axis A. Whenthe vehicle access seating system 100 is activated to provide occupantegress, the fore-aft assembly 140 positions the seat unit 110 forinitiating rotation (that is, the seat 102 is going forward or rearwardin the motor vehicle to the seat's “rotation start” position dependingon the drive position). The fore-aft assembly 140 can be activatedconcurrent with the swivel assembly 160 to position the seat unit 110 asclose to the B-pillar as possible (or within a preselected tolerance ordistance—e.g., when sensors 78 control operation of one or more of theassemblies 140, 160, 180, the sensors may define the seat's positionrelative to the B-pillar 74 and the transmission tunnel 79).

Spacing K+R in FIGS. 1B and 1E represents the approximate legroom to thedashboard 77 and the A-pillar 73 (that spacing K+R is kept as large aspossible in some implementations in order to increase legroom and kneeclearance for a user seated in seat 102), while clearance B representsthe distance to the B-pillar 74 (maintained as small as possible inimplementations seeking to optimize seat rotation and usercomfort/space). In some implementations, the seat unit 110 can alsoreverse (using extension/retraction assembly 180 and the resultinglinear movement parallel to pivotable seat axis S), thus keepingclearance T relatively small between seat unit 110 and the transmissiontunnel 79 and keeping the B-pillar clearance B relatively small, whilesimultaneously increasing spacing K+R as well. Seat 102 (and thus axisS) can be pivoted relative to axis A, and can be linearly moved forwardor backward relative to the neutral position parallel to pivotable seataxis S. Legroom spacing K+R increases substantially using thismultiple-axis movement.

The operation finishes with the seat 102 having rotated outboardapproximately 90° (or another angle relative to the A axis that permitsuser ingress and egress) and extending out of the motor vehicle doorwayin the user seat access position to permit easy egress, as seen in FIGS.1C, 1F and/or 2C. Again, the travel path of seat unit 110 and thecooperative operation of assemblies 120, 140, 160 and 180 can beprogrammed for a given motor vehicle or can be defined using sensors 78(attached to components of seating system 100 and/or to interior pointsin the motor vehicle 70, as seen in FIG. 1A) that provide spacing datato a control system 199 that then regulates operation of the drivepackage, drive system or drive train (that is, motors 146, 168 and 188in some implementations). In implementations where the travel path ofthe user seat 102 is programmed, control system 199 can control thevarious motors and/or other components of system 100 and can be locatedanywhere convenient.

Implementations of seating system 100 are adaptable to and usable inmotor vehicles having relatively small “transition corridors” ascompared to earlier seating systems. For purposes of some of theimplementations illustrated in this disclosure, a “transition corridor”can be defined as the spacing or travel path width between a motorvehicle's B-pillar and a forward obstacle or motor vehicle structure,such as the steering wheel, dashboard and/or A-pillar. Securing the userseat in the drive position can by implemented by using latches, locksand/or other mechanical means or the like to ensure that the user seatdoes not unintentionally move from the drive position (e.g., duringoperation of the motor vehicle by a driver occupying the user seat).

The included descriptions and figures depict specific embodiments toteach those skilled in the art how to make and use the best mode. Forthe purpose of teaching inventive principles, some conventional aspectshave been simplified or omitted. Those skilled in the art willappreciate variations from these embodiments that fall within the scopeof the invention. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that thefeatures described above can be combined in various ways to formmultiple embodiments. As a result, the invention is not limited to thespecific embodiments described above, but only by the claims and theirequivalents. The many features and advantages of the present inventionare apparent from the written description, and thus, the appended claimsare intended to cover all such features and advantages of the invention.Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur tothose skilled in the art, the present invention is not limited to theexact construction and operation as illustrated and described.Therefore, the described implementations should be taken as illustrativeand not restrictive, and the invention should not be limited to thedetails given herein but should be defined by the following claims andtheir full scope of equivalents, whether foreseeable or unforeseeablenow or in the future.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle seating system comprising: a mountingassembly configured to be affixed to a motor vehicle internal seatposition adjacent to a motor vehicle door, the mounting assemblycomprising: an adapter plate having a longitudinal axis A and defining acrush zone therein, the crush zone formed by removing material from theadapter plate proximate to a mount; and a pair of first side edgeguides, wherein each first side edge guide is mounted to a lateral sideof the adapter plate; wherein the axis A is static when the mountingassembly is mounted to a to motor vehicle internal seat position; afirst slide assembly coupled to the mounting assembly, wherein the firstslide assembly is configured to move linearly relative to the adapterplate and parallel to the axis A, the slide assembly comprising: anunder-plate comprising a pair of first side edges, wherein each firstside edge slidably engages one of the first side edge guides; a rackmounted to the under-plate; and a first slide assembly drive motormounted to the under-plate and engaging the adapter plate to selectivelymove the first slide assembly in a linear motion parallel to the axis A;a swivel assembly mounted to the first slide assembly, wherein theswivel assembly is configured to swivel relative to the first slideassembly, the swivel assembly comprising: an over-plate; a pair ofsecond side edge guides, wherein each second side edge guide is mountedto a lateral side of the over-plate; a swivel post mounted to theover-plate and rotatably engaging the first slide assembly; and a swivelmotor mounted to the over-plate, wherein the swivel motor comprises apinion engaging the rack to selectively rotate the swivel assemblyrelative to the first slide assembly; and a second slide assemblycoupled to the swivel assembly, wherein the second slide assembly isconfigured to move linearly relative to the over-plate, the second slideassembly comprising: a user seat unit comprising: a seat pan having alongitudinal axis S; a user seat cushion mounted to the seat pan; andthe seat pan comprising a pair of second side edges, wherein each secondside edge slidably engages one of the second side edge guides; whereinthe axis S pivots when the swivel assembly rotates relative to the firstslide assembly; and a second slide assembly drive motor mounted to theover-plate and engaging the seat pan to selectively move the secondslide assembly in a linear motion parallel to the axis S.
 2. The seatingsystem of claim 1 wherein the adapter plate is configured to be affixedto the motor vehicle at a horizontal offset angle relative to alongitudinal axis L of the motor vehicle.
 3. The seating system of claim2 wherein the adapter plate is configured to be affixed to the motorvehicle floor pan at an recline angle to increase occupant headroom. 4.The seating system of claim 1, further wherein the crush zone is definedformed laser cutting portions of the adapter plate proximate to themount.
 5. A vehicle access seating system comprising a user seat havingan axis S, the vehicle access seating system further comprising: anadapter plate having a longitudinal axis A and configured to be affixedto a motor vehicle seat position inside the motor vehicle generallybetween a motor vehicle transmission tunnel and a motor vehicleB-pillar; a user seat fore-aft slide assembly slidably coupled to theadapter plate and configured to move the user seat linearly in a motorvehicle parallel to the axis A and relative to the adapter plate; a userseat swivel assembly mounted to the fore-aft slide assembly, wherein theswivel assembly comprises an off-center swivel post and is configured toswivel the user seat relative to the adapter plate; and a user seatextension/retraction assembly mounted to the swivel assembly andconfigured to move the user seat linearly parallel to the axis S andrelative to the swivel assembly; wherein the fore-aft slide assembly,swivel assembly and extension/retraction assembly are configured to movethe user seat between an internal drive position in which the motorvehicle can be operated with an occupant in the user seat and an accessposition that is generally lateral to the drive position and in whichthe user seat extends at least partially outside the motor vehicle;wherein the user seat, while moving between the drive position and theaccess position, provides increased legroom for an occupant seated inthe user seat by reducing or minimizing the clearance between the userseat and the motor vehicle's B-pillar and by reducing or minimizing theclearance between the user seat and the motor vehicle's transmissiontunnel; wherein the adapter plate is configured to be affixed to themotor vehicle floor pan at a recline angle that is between about 1° andabout 4° and configured to increase the headroom of an occupant in theuser seat.
 6. The seating system of claim 5, wherein the adapter plateis configured to be affixed to the motor vehicle at a horizontal offsetangle of approximately 1° relative to the motor vehicle transmissiontunnel and/or a longitudinal axis L of the motor vehicle.
 7. The seatingsystem of claim 6 wherein the fore-aft slide assembly, swivel assemblyand extension/retraction assembly are configured to move the user seatusing multiple axis movement as the user seat is rotated and movedlinearly parallel to one or two axes, including the axis S that changesorientation relative to axis A as the seat is rotated using the swivelassembly.
 8. The seating system of claim 5 wherein the fore-aft slideassembly comprises: an under-plate; a plurality of fore-aft sidewallroller bearing guides mounted to the adapter plate to guide linearmovement of fore-aft slide assembly and the user seat relative to theadapter plate; and a slide motor coupled to the under-plate andconfigured to move the under-plate linearly relative to the adapterplate.
 9. The seating system of claim 8 wherein the swivel assemblycomprises: an over-plate; a swivel motor mounted to a weldment securedto the swivel assembly; a pinion coupled to the swivel motor, whereinthe pinion engages an arcuate rack mounted to the under-plate; and theoff-center swivel post mounted to the over-plate.
 10. The seating systemof claim 9 wherein the slide motor, the swivel motor and anextension/retraction motor each can be selectively operated manually tomove the user seat to the drive position.
 11. The seating system ofclaim 10 wherein the fore-aft slide assembly, the swivel assembly andthe extension/retraction assembly work in concert to move the user seatthrough a transition corridor during movement between the drive positionand the access position.
 12. The seating system of claim 5 whereinmovement of the user seat from the drive position to the access positionis programmed.
 13. The seating system of claim 5 wherein movement of theuser seat from the drive position to the access position is determinedbased on one or more sensors in the motor vehicle that detect the userseat position relative to the B-pillar and the transmission tunnel. 14.The seating system of claim 5 wherein the seating system is installed ina motor vehicle.
 15. The seating system of claim 5, further wherein therecline angle is about 4°.
 16. The seating system of claim 5, furtherwherein the recline angle provides at least 2 inches of increasedheadroom for an occupant compared to a 0° recline angle.
 17. Incombination with a motor vehicle having a B-pillar, a forward seatingcompartment substantially forward of the B-pillar, a chassis, and atransmission tunnel extending longitudinally along a generally centrallongitudinal axis L of the motor vehicle, a vehicle access seatingsystem comprising: a mounting assembly configured to be secured to amotor vehicle interior in approximately an OEM motor vehicle seatlocation, wherein the mounting assembly comprises an adapter platebolted to the motor vehicle chassis and further comprises generallyparallel fore-aft slide assembly sidewall roller bearing guides, whereinthe adapter plate is mounted: at an recline angle of approximately 4°relative to an OEM motor vehicle seat to increase occupant headroom inthe forward seating compartment; and at a horizontal outward offsetangle of approximately 1° relative to the generally central longitudinalaxis L so that a longitudinal axis A of the adapter plate is offsetrelative to the longitudinal axis L by the horizontal outward offsetangle; a fore-aft slide assembly configured to move the user seatlinearly parallel to the adapter plate axis A and relative to themounting assembly, the fore-aft slide assembly comprising: anunder-plate having sidewall edges, wherein each under-plate sidewalledge engages one of the roller bearing guides and further wherein theunderplate having sidewall edges are configured to slide the under-platelinearly within the sidewall roller bearing guides, each roller bearingguide housing roller bearings on a top, outside and bottom portion ofthe corresponding roller bearing guide housing; a slide motor coupled tothe under-plate and configured to selectively move the under-platelinearly in the sidewall roller bearing guides; an arcuate rack affixedto an under-plate upper surface; and an under-plate pivot hole generallyconcentric to the rack; a swivel assembly above the fore-aft slideassembly and engaging the fore-aft slide assembly, the swivel assemblycomprising: an over-plate having a swivel post structure engaging thepivot hole to permit controlled rotation of the swivel assembly relativeto the fore-aft slide assembly; and a swivel motor mounted to theover-plate, wherein the swivel motor comprises a pinion engaging thearcuate rack; and an extension/retraction assembly comprising a userseat mounted to a seat pan, wherein the user seat comprises an occupantorientation seat axis S, the extension/retraction assembly furthercomprising: the over-plate having generally parallel user seatextension/retraction sidewall guides; the seat pan having sidewalledges, wherein each seat pan sidewall edge engages one of the over-platesidewall guides, wherein the seat pan is configured to slide linearlyparallel to seat axis S within the extension/retraction user seatsidewall guides; a motor configured to move the user seat linearlyparallel to the seat axis S relative to the over-plate; wherein thefore-aft slide assembly and swivel assembly move the user seat between adrive position in which the user seat is in a generally forward-facingorientation in the motor vehicle and an access position in which theuser seat is facing generally outward and the user seat extends at leastpartially outside a motor vehicle doorway; further wherein one or moreof the fore-aft slide assembly, the swivel assembly, and/or theextension/retraction assembly work cooperatively to move the user seatbetween the drive position and the access position while maximizingoccupant legroom by reducing or minimizing the spacing between the userseat and the B-pillar and by reducing or minimizing the spacing betweenthe user seat and the transmission tunnel.
 18. The vehicle accessseating system of claim 17, further wherein each sidewall edge of theunder-plate engages each top, outside and bottom portion of thecorresponding roller bearing guide housing.